1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a communication system for two-way wireless communication. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a communication system including a personal communication device which is universally adaptable to at least one remote device for two-way wireless communication between a user and the remote device.
2. State of the Art
Two-way wireless communication systems are well known. For example, one known two-way wireless communication system is described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/479,629, filed on Jun. 7, 1995 in the name of Jim Anderson, and entitled "Hearing Aid With Wireless Remote Processor", the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. In this system, audio signals are picked up by a microphone in an earpiece worn by a user, transmitted over a wireless link to a remote processor in which they can be processed to enhance the signal quality and then: (1) returned to the earpiece for output to the wearer; or (2) processed for transmission to a secondary unit (e.g., a cellular phone network). In a similar manner, signals from the secondary unit can be received by the remote processor, processed, and then transmitted to the earpiece.
A problem with this known system is that it is not universally adaptable to any type of secondary unit. Connecting a particular secondary unit to the remote processor requires special adaptation circuitry. This makes it prohibitively expensive and complex to connect the remote processor to many different types of secondary units.
Thus, there is a need for a communication system which permits two-way wireless communication between a user and at least one remote device which is universally adaptable to a variety of remote devices, and which can be connected to a single remote device or to a plurality of different remote devices at the same time or at different times in a simple manner.